It is hard not to like Kyrie Irving. He smiles easily. He speaks with enthusiasm, confidence and humor. He signs most of his Twitter entries with his catch phrase: Hungry & Humble. Both would appear to be admirable qualities.

All this could be interpreted differently, though, by Duke junior G Nolan Smith.

Irving is younger. He hasn’t paid nearly the same price to be wearing a Blue Devils uniform. He hasn’t accomplished a fraction as much in the game. He was a spectator while Duke played and won the 2010 NCAA championship. And yet he’s the one so many who follow Duke basketball are discussing as the season approaches.

How Smith feels about this is no small element of what will determine the outcome of this Duke season.

So how does he feel?

“Very comfortable,” Smith told Sporting News. “I think the main thing is, Kyrie and myself have a great relationship off the court.

“We’re just learning how to play with each other now, but our chemistry starts off the court, and we’re very comfortable with each other.”

Smith is a 6-2 senior who has, over the course of his Duke career, discovered he is not a true point guard but can be capable of running the offense on occasion. Irving is a 6-2 freshman who once was viewed as a scorer but since has evolved into the most exciting small point guard prospect since Chris Paul came to Wake Forest in 2003.

In that sense, Smith and Irving do not play the same position. So there’ll be no competition for a spot. The plan is to start both of them, so there’ll be no competition for playing time. And given that Smith just got done winning big alongside 18-point scorers Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler — while scoring 17.4 per game himself — there probably won’t be competition for shots.

Basketball in the 21st century is a curious game, though. One need only to examine the circumstantial evidence of Wake Forest’s 2009 implosion — when Jeff Teague quite obviously resisted the return from injury of playmaker Ish Smith, and the Deacs devolved from a No. 1 team to a first-round NCAA loser — to understand why it’s essential for Duke’s new guard tandem to unite.

“Nolan made my transition to college a lot better,” Irving said. “Coming into college, I was really nervous. I knew what my role was going to be, but I didn’t know how to come in and assume my role. We’ve talked, and we know what our relationship can be. Having a relationship on and off the court is really important.

“We give each other a lot of space and room to be ourselves. Most of the plays are going to be for me or Kyle or Nolan, so we have to be comfortable with each other.”

Irving initially was viewed by recruiting analysts as primarily a scorer because he demonstrated such a gift, but in early workouts with the Blue Devils he showed he is a natural at making decisions with the basketball.

He said he learned how to play the point by watching the NBA on television with his father, who would point out the great decisions made by the greatest playmakers. His confidence has grown as rapidly as his list of achievements: 2009 New Jersey state champion, 2010 McDonald’s All American, gold medalist in the U-18 FIBA Americas championship.

“I think I can do it all. I just try to be really complete,” he said. "Anything coach wants me to do, I’m willing to do. Kyle and Nolan — I’ll do anything for them, anything for this team. I really want to win.”

The success of this chemistry experiment will be largely dependent on Smith, and that’s why it seems so much more likely to work.

Smith’s first two seasons were challenging, when he tried to master the point role but struggled. Krzyzewski last season created a comfortable duty for him that involved shooting when open, passing when prudent, handling the ball when necessary. Smith made some of the biggest shots of the championship-game win over Butler and finished with 13 points and four assists. Instead of fretting about whether the NBA will view him as a point guard prospect, Smith seems at peace with what he is.

“The coaches really helped me with that,” Smith said. “They realized I’m just a player. Go out there and make plays. They started to tell me that, and it’s what I began to do. That’s really helped me get comfortable with who I am as a player.”

And that means being OK if the novelty of Irving — and maybe some spectacular play — leads to him getting a larger share of publicity?

“Oh, yeah. Definitely. I’m definitely OK with it,” Smith said. “It’s exciting for us, exciting for this team. The team’s already getting a lot of publicity. The more the merrier.”